A 16-year-old girl plunged to her death after falling from a steep ledge in western New York on Saturday afternoon, according to reports.
The Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office said the girl’s name and the circumstances of the accident, which happened around 6 p.m. in Zoar Valley, were not immediately released as the investigation is ongoing.
A popular hiking destination with gorges and waterfalls, the Zoar Valley Multiple Use Area south of Buffalo encompasses about 3,000 acres of state-owned land with shale cliffs up to 400 feet tall rising above Cattaraugus Creek.
There have been several fatal falls there in recent years, including when a 20-year-old Hamburg man plummeted while climbing a waterfall to get a photo back in 2018.
In 2017, a Buffalo couple fell to their deaths while hiking in Zoar Valley. Their young sons, ages 4 and 7, were injured.
